New Target for Gastrointestinal Cancers Found

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Steven Powers MD.

 

Thursday, April 04, 2002 9:31 PM

New Target for Gastrointestinal Cancers Found

 

 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_6830.html

 

 

New Target for Gastrointestinal Cancers Found

Reuters

 

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

 

 

By Emma Hitt, PhD

 

ATLANTA, Mar 27 (Reuters Health) - Two preliminary studies may have identified a

new target for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers of the gastrointestinal

tract, such as colon and esophageal cancer.

 

Coincidentally, this target is the same molecule activated by a bacterial toxin

that causes diarrhea, suggesting a way to prevent diarrhea, researchers say. In

fact, they note, the toxin that causes diarrhea could eventually be put to use

as a cancer therapy.

 

The findings were presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American

Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics under way here.

 

In one study, Dr. Stephanie Schulz of Thomas Jefferson University in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and colleagues investigated the presence of the

target molecule, called guanylyl cyclase C, in esophageal and stomach tumors.

 

According to Schulz, the molecule is expressed only in cells from the

gastrointestinal tract and is known to be a marker for cancer that has spread

from the colon.

 

Schulz and colleagues wanted to see whether there was a difference in the

expression of this molecule in cells that were cancerous compared to those that

were not.

 

In their study, they examined five esophageal tumors and nine stomach tumors.

They found that the molecule was present in all of the tumors, except one from

the stomach. In contrast, three normal samples of stomach tissue did not express

the molecule.

 

The investigators also found evidence of the molecule in tissue that was right

next to a tumor but appeared normal, suggesting that expression of the molecule

may represent an early change in tissue before it becomes cancerous.

 

According to Schulz, the molecule is likely to be useful in two ways: to stage a

tumor, meaning to determine how far advanced it is; and as a potential

therapeutic target.

 

" In terms of implications for treatment, these findings are very early, " Schulz

told Reuters Health at the meeting. " Our first effort will be to see if the

molecule is able to predict the stage of the tumor. "

 

But she pointed out that since the molecule is expressed only in the

gastrointestinal tract, it might be useful in targeting medications to tumors

located there.

 

Specifically, a protein that recognizes the target could be attached to a cancer

therapy, so that the therapy could be delivered directly to the tumor, leaving

normal tissue unaffected.

 

" It also might be a target for diarrhea therapy, " Schulz said. A type of

bacteria called Escherichia coli puts out a poison called heat-stable toxin that

binds to the molecule, so finding a way to block this binding could prevent

diarrhea.

 

Alternatively, the E. coli toxin may be put to use in preventing cancer growth,

a second study suggests. Dr. Giovanni Pitari and colleagues, also from Thomas

Jefferson University, found that the E. coli toxin blocked the ability of colon

cancer cells to grow and divide, possibly by interfering with calcium entry into

cells.

 

" The toxin may have promise in treating tumors or also prevent the formation of

polyps in the colon and rectum, " Pitari notes in a written release. The next

step, he suggests, will be to test the toxin in animals to see if it can prevent

tumor growth.

 

 

 

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prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be

liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in

reliance thereon.

 

 

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S. Powers MD.

 

 

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